With the growing popularity of input devices such as the computer mouse, stylus, track-ball, micro-fiche machine and other electronic information processors, more and more people are spending extended periods of time involved with these instruments. All these activities entail that the weight of the hand rest mostly on the wrists, which in turn rests on or must slide over a hard, often cold, worksurface such as a table or graphics tablet. With extensive use, these activities cause the skin and bones of the wrist, particularly in the carpal region to become sore, abraded, and inflamed. Persistent pressure on this area causes annoyance, loss of concentration, discomfort, and may even damage the carpal nerve. The carpal nerve extends from the palm of the hand between the thumb and fourth finger into the top of the wrist, and damage to this nerve can lead to, or aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome. Moreover, in the case of children up to the ages of 13, these sensitive bones in the carpal area are not fully formed: they are still in the process of development. As such, children are in even greater need of protection than adults. This fact is particularly significant today as more and more primary and secondary schools are introducing students to the use of computers and their peripherals in the classrooms.
There have been various gloves and wrist protectors designed for sports and other activities, but none meets the particular requirements of the user of the above mentioned electronic input devices. Most versions of a wrist protective glove are in the areas of golf, bowling, and weight lifting. But as sports gloves they emphasize either a wrist brace to strengthen the wrist, as in weight lifting and bowling, or they include special padding for the palm area as in golf. Very often they involve braces to aid and develop a specialized kind of grip on sports apparatus.